Scolipede (BW2 Revamp)

<p>If mentioned in a pool of OU-viable Pokemon, Scolipede may receive a few tilted heads, and for good reason. Scolipede is a frail Pokemon without access to anything which can quickly rid the field of or at least cripple most bulky Pokemon, making it fodder for users of entry hazards and many boosting sweepers. In addition to this, Scolipede's Bug / Poison typing leaves it without a usable secondary STAB and a 2x weakness to Stealth Rock; this means that Scolipede is not only easy to force out, but also that its lifespan will be very short without proper support. Do not lose faith in Quality Control however, as their approval of Scolipede getting an OU analysis was just and well supported.</p>

<p>Scolipede makes up for its shortcomings in its movepool and stats. Scolipede is one of the fastest users of Spikes available to use in OU, as well as the fastest user of Toxic Spikes in the game; with base 112 Speed, Scolipede shouldn't have much trouble setting up a layer or two of hazards. While base 90 Attack leaves Scolipede at the mercy of bulky sweepers and many walls, it's just enough to help Scolipede power through a good chunk of OU with its STAB Megahorn. Scolipede's Megahorn makes short work of the common Deoxys-D&mdashwhich is notorious for its massive defensive stats&mdashas well as the Lati twins and Tyrantar. Scolipede also has access to great coverage options in Aqua Tail, Earthquake, and Rock Slide, allowing it to weaken or quickly dispatch a wide variety of Pokemon. Topping off Scolipede's overall capabilities are its available abilities and rather large movepool, which give Scolipede enough flexibility to help address issues its team may face; Scolipede is capable of keeping a steady amount of offensive pressure on the opposing team with Swords Dance, acting as a pseudo status absorber, scouting through utilization of empty Baton Passes, and so on. Scolipede certainly has the tools needed to compete in the offensive OU metagame. If your aim is to quickly set up Spikes while maintaining a steady flow of offense, then Scolipede is definitely worth considering.</p>

<p>Scolipede's high Speed stat and good support movepool are hindered by its subpar defenses, therefore making its best role in OU setting up entry hazards and doing as much damage as possible before going down. Stressing this too much is impossible; Scolipede's Megahorn is capable of tearing down some of the most common Pokemon in OU, namely Deoxys-D. That said, one of the items which Scolipede should be using is a Bug Gem. With the extra power granted by Bug Gem, Scolipede will always be able to OHKO Deoxys-D that don't invest into Defense, as well as all Tyranitar, and is just a powerful attack in general. However, Bug Gem is rather risky to use to it being consumed after Scolipede's first successful Megahorn; there's nothing stopping the aforementioned targets from switching out and causing Scolipede to waste its Bug Gem. Due to this, Focus Sash is the recommended item of choice here as it's much more reliable and almost always guarantees at least a single layer of spikes.</p>

<p>Unlike most Bug-types, Scolipede has access to Earthquake, which compliments Megahorn's coverage very well, hitting targets such as Heatran, Tentacruel, and Terrakion for heavy damage. Rock Slide rounds off Scolipede's coverage, nailing Salamence, Volcarona, and many others for a good amount of damage. Toxic Spikes is worth considering in the final slot however, as even in the fast-paced metagame of OU, it can prove to be a useful entry hazard. Two layers can cripple more conservative Pokemon, such as Calm Mind Keldeo and defensive Politoed. Conversely, one layer can prove to be pivotal in bringing down hit-and-run Pokemon, namely users of Choice items.</p>

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[Additional Comments]

Both abilities have neat uses

Swarm is great due to Scolipede's deceptive defensive capabilities and sort of compliments its SR weakness

Quick Feet is fun; Scolipede can take para / sleep and get up spikes, plus it can potentially turn Scolipede into a boss revenge killer

Aqua Tail can fit in the fourth slot if you're running rain, since it dominates Gliscor, smacks around Terrakion, hits Gengar harder than anything else, and so on

Superpower hits Natt and Terrak harder than Megahorn / EQ

Pursuit is nice to catch fleeing Lati@s, Starmie, etc, but is pretty weak

Swords Dance can work fine with Focus Sash; it's almost guaranteed +2, which allows Scolipede to keep up with offensive teams, just watch out for weather and priority

SD + BG is cool as well if you're confident with your predictions; predicting a fleeing Deo-D for example may just end up giving you a huge advantage early in the game

Sleep Talk turns Scolipede into a nice Breloom check and works with Quick Feet, so <3

Toxic is cool if you don't like getting beaten by Tentacruel + Jellicent or something of the sort

LO offers more consistent power, but Scolipede still won't be able to OHKO Deo-D

Removing 16 EVs from Speed is ok if you want a little bit of added bulk; removing 20 makes Scolipede tie with 110's

FYI: Removing only a few Attack EVs gives Deo-D a chance of surviving BG Megahorn, so don't mess with that stat too much

Pack SR with this thing

Pretty independent, so don't worry about specific teammates

Stuff that likes Spikes (Fighting-types, Latios, etc) work well

Spinblockers would be nice, too

Duggy can work double duty if you're running weather, getting rid of Tentacruel and other grounded poisons

Plop this baby on offensive teams, or semi-stall if you're ballsy enough -- it works

[Other Options]

Pure SD, but that's horrible

Baton Pass; empty BPs are cool for scouting, or if you're crazy, you can try BPing SD's / Agility's with this thing

Endeavor + Sash is cute, esp with Scolipede's high Speed stat, just watch out for priority / weather

Screech + Pursuit

Rock Tomb and Bulldoze are available if you really hate Scarfers and Torn-T, since Scolipede tends to draw them in

Poison Point is the worst Scolipede's abilities, but it can at least make Scolipede a conduit for some U-turns; don't let that tempt you though, it's really bad

Leftovers / Black Sludge if you're really paranoid about Scolipede dying early, but I don't need to explain what makes that so bad (dw, I'll explain)

Anything not mentioned here sucks and shouldn't be used (essentially)

[Checks and Counters]

Spinners, especially Forry; Starmie needs to watch out for Megahorn and Tentacruel, EQ

Skarmory walls it, gets hazards up, and can KO with BB

Gliscor falls in pretty much the same boat, but gives af about Aqua Tail in rain if it isn't packing Roost

Lando-T, Nattorei, Hippowdon, etc can tank a few hits and proceed to set SR up in Scolipede's face

Moderator

Moving this to L&O due to inactivity. Chillarmy, please PM me if you're prepared to open this up again, since I know you're still looking around the forums these days. If this is not the case, anybody else can push this through the GP phase.